Locking slide fastener



June 23, 1942.

R. HIRSCH LOCKING SLIDE FASTENER Filed Sept. 26, 1941 ATTORNEY.

- or free sections of the stringers,

- in that the pin pierces Patented June 23, 1942 Roy Hirsch,

Flushing, N. Y., assignor to Universal Slide Fastener Co. Inc., LongIsland City, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 26,1941, Serial No. 412,496

8 Claims.

This invention relates generally to slide fasteners having rows ofinterlockable elements,

connected to flexible tapes or so-called stringers,

that are adapted to be urged into interlocking engagement by manualactuation-of a slider longitudinally of the stringers, in-one;direction, and disengaged by a similar slider movement in the reversedirection,

come automatically effective in response to the initiation of aself-actuated or; unintentional movement of the slider in the directionof the interlocked elements, to arrestsuch movement and insure themaintenance of the closure, as produced by the interlocked elements,until such time as the slider may disengage them.

As is well known, when the interlockable elements are engaged and thestringers are in mated positionythe slider can be readily shifted ormoved by any force effective upon the unmated which tend to spread orseparate them laterally, with a resulting disengagement of theinterlockable elements and the separation of the matedstringers. To

overcome this disadvantage, various expedients have been proposed, as

a pin carried by' a pull hinged to the slider and designed to enter'between contiguous elements, when the pulljis dependently parallel tothe slider. This entails a separate operation and is furtherobjectionable the stringer fabric and eventually weakens it, while itseffectiveness is dependent entirely upon the pull locking position uponthe slider. Other looking it tends to produce torsional movementtherein, the elements twisting past the projecting surfaces, instead ofimpinging thereagainst.

Therefore, the primaryobject of this invention isto provide a lockingmeans integral with a slider of a slide fastener assembly, which will Iand is more particularly directed to the provision of means that willbe-,

be manually actuated to afford greater security against accidental orunintentional separation ofthe interlockable elements, which I shall,hereinafter, term scoops, than any of the locking means now available,and which may be readily incorporated in a of conventional design. i

More specifically, it is the object of this invention to provide alocking means for a slider in a slide fastener assembly, which isadapted to function in conjunction with an engaging scoop to resistdislocation of the slider from a position to which it has beenpreviously adjusted in a remaining in media are formed integral with theslider and comprise prongs constituting inwardly disposed angularcontinuations of the ends of the rails thereof, notches variously formedon the rails and protuberances on the wing, all'of which are dependentfor functioning upon the interposition of the projections, howsoeverformed, between adjacent interlockable elements, to block the movementof the elements through the slider. Because of this, these prior lockingmeans are not always immediately effective in arresting movement of theslider in response to a lateral separation of the stringers, so that anppreciable separation of the interlockable elements may occur before thenecessary adjacent elements assume the appropriate positions,relative'to the surfaces with which they must engage, to restrain theslider from further movement. This is especially true,- if the forcecausing the spreading or lateral separation of the stringers is suchthat scoop interlocking movement, in response to the lateral separationofthe opposed stringers, as

other, accidentally or otherwise, the locking means being ineffective inthe normal manual movement of the slider longitudinally of the stringersin either direction.

Other objects andadvantages flowing from the practicing of my inventionwill become apparent as the description proceeds and I would have itunderstood that I reserve unto myself all rights to the full range ofequivalents to which I may be entitled within the purview of theappended claims. V

For the purposes of this disclosure, I have elected to show and describea preferred embodiment of my invention, which, it will'be understood-maytake other formsto meet special requirements of production and use.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan viewof a fragment of a slide fastener assembly,embodying my invention.

Figure 2 isa view similar to Figure l, with the slider shown in section.Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective of the slider, illustrating thepositions assumed by a scoop as it is traversed by the slider in thenormal manual actuation of the latter and as it coacts with the lockingmeans of the slider (shown in dotted lines) and Figure 4 is a plan viewof one of the complemental portions of the slider, taken on'the line 44of the preceding figure.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, .in

the fastener assembly includes a pair of soslider called stringers,comprising the tapes l and rows of spaced and interlockable scoops IIand I2 along their opposed longitudinal edges, which are beaded, as atI3, for connecting the scoops thereto, through the medium of theirbead-embracing jaws Hi, the scoops being adapted to be successivelyguided into interlocking position and progressively interlocked by thetraversing movementof a slider i5, which may be provided with a pull I6hinged thereto, for facilitating its manipulation.

The slider, as shown, embodies relatively spaced upper and lower wingsI! and i8, the side edges of which are flanged to provide the upper andlower spaced rails l9 and 20, which cooperate with the opposite parallelwalls of a the V-shaped indented portion 2| to form the divergingsections of the channel for the reception of the aforementioned scoopsII and i2, generally defined by said rails, extending from end to end ofthe slider,

and said V-shaped portion 2|, which functionsv to connect the wings inrelatively spaced relationship. For the purposes of this description,the end of the slider, former by the diverging sections of the channel,will be referred to as the tor thereof and the opposite end the bottom.

of the slider, to ultimately interlock'the scoops with the protuberancesin an angular position, relatively to the defining walls of the sliderchannel sections, the distortion of the beaded edges of the stringers,heretofore referred to, in many instances, influencing or generating atwisting movement of the scoops in engagement with the protuberances toaugment the security of the interlock in .resisting the' displacement ofthe slider.

In other words, the aforesaid protuberances 22 and 23, as engaged by asingle scoop in each of the diverging channel sections, generate acammingaction which is most eifective in maintaining an interlockedcondition between the slider and the scoops which insures the stringersAs is clearly shown in Figure 3 in each of the divergent sections of thechannel of the slider, I

provide projecting surfaces of an approximately semiconical contour, asindicated at 22 and 23, the surface having a somewhat flattened profilerather than one of the order of a true cone, for the reasons which willhereinafter be explained. These projections which are designed tofunction as locking means in engagement with abutting scoops to resistdisplacement of the slider only when it is in a pro-adjustedscoop-interlocking position, as hereinafter described, are formed on theinner faces of each of the wings and are located in proximity to theupper and lower rails i9 and'20, the axis of each of the semi-conicalprotuberances being parallel to the adjacent rail, with the base thereofparallel to the edge of the top of the channel section. Obviously, thesaid projections 22 and 23 may be formed on the inner faces of therespective wings, in any suitable manner and may be hollow or solid orthe product of an indentation of the outer surface of each of the wings.

Now, assuming that the slider 15 has been moved or adjusted along thestringers to a posi-' tion in which such traversing movement hasefiected the requisite interlocking of the scoop H and I2, to thedesired length, .any lateral pull that is exerted upon the stringers,above the' slide and tending to move them outwardly and away from eachother, will produce a degree of distortion of the beaded edges withinthe diverging channel sections of the slider which will cause a cantingor tilting of the scoops, adjacent the semi-conical surfaces 22 and 23,in the direction of the rails Iii-and 20.'with which the latter areassociated, and in this deviation from their normal path or line ofmovement through the slider, they will be urged into frictionalengagement with the protuberant semi-conical surfaces 22 and 23, thejawends of the scoops initially engaging with the protuberances in theregion of the apex of each thereof, in response to the initiationof thepull or stringer separating movement, to create a frictional resistanceto relative movement of the scoop and slider, the intensity of whichincreases in proportion to the progression of the scoop along thewedge-like surfaces of the protuberances, towards the top against 'evenpartial separation in response to a pull exerted thereon above theslider, when the latter i in a preadjusted scoop-interlocking position.The relatively long gradual slope of the softly flattened surfaces ofthe semi-conical protuberances not only contribute to the attainment ofthis objective, as described, but have those characteristics that tendto make them wear resistant, so that the dependability of the lockingmeans is insured for a long period of service.

In the normal movement of the slider, along the stringers, in eitherdirection, to effect the engagement or disengagement of the opposed rowsof scoops II and I2, as the case may be, the aforesaid projections 22and 23 are ineffective, the slider being freely movable along thestringers, without the scoops making contact therewith. In thisconnection, it may be pointed out that in the normal manual actuation ofthe slider, the stringers are not subject to any distorting influences,as isthe case when a separating force is applied thereto beyond or abovethe slider, and the relatively stiffened beads thereof maintain analignment of the scoops with respect to the channel of the slider, thattends to, project them toward the inside walls of the diverging channelsections, so that adequate clearance is provided between the jaw ends ofthe scoops and the protuberances 22 and 23, for the scoops to enter andexit from the top of the slider, without making contact therewith.

As pointed out, in the functioning of my locking means, the wing-carriedprotuberances coact with the juxtaposed surface of a scoop that is inabutting position, when the separating force is communicated to thestringers and the locking effort immediately becomes effective inanchoring the slider to the stringers, whereas in prior devices theprongs or notchesor semi-spherical projections are to become effectivein contributing to the locking of the slider to the stringers, mustenter between two adjacent scoops, or locking elements. Obviously, thisdoes not insure the requisite degree of security against a partial iseparation, at least, of the stringers, when they -are pulled apartabove the slider in its preadjusted scoop-interlocking position, sincethe scoops may be so poised within the channel of the slider, withrelation to the stops, that under the impetus of the pull, severalscoops may ride past them, before they are engaged by adjacent scoops.Also, a possible twisting movement of the stringer portions within theslider channel, instead of contributing to the interlocking of theslider and scoops as herein described, may tend to move the scoops ofthe prior devices out of position for effective engagement with thecoacting'suri'aces of the sliders, in the various forms described.

While I have described my invention more or less in detail, withrespect-to the form shown herein, it will be manifest that changes inde-- tails of the structure involved, may be made without departingfrom, the spirit and scope thereof. For example, the protuberances 22and 23 may be otherwise disposed on the inner surfaces of the wings, orthey may be incorporated in the make-up of one wing only, or upon therails, if found expedient or desirable; Likewise, the formation of thewings may be varied and the method of effecting their jointure thereception of the scoops.

I claim:

1; A slide fastener assembly, including a pair of stringers carryingrows of spaced scoops their adjacent longitudinal edges and a chanalongneled slider bordered by rails reciprocable upon said stringers" toeffect the engagement and disengagement of said scoops, means forlocking said slider against movement from a preadjustedscoop-interlocking position in response to the application to saidstringers of a force tending to separate them laterally, said meansincluding elongated curved-surface projections of progressivelyincreasing cross-section, located internally of said slider, conformedfor engagement by surfaces of an adjacent scoop which are normallyparallel to the rails of the slider, when the movement of such scoop isinitiated by a concurrent movement of the stringers edges.

including a pair aration along their longitudinal 2. Aslide fastenerassembly,

- of stringers carrying rows ofspaced scoops along their adjacentlongitudinal edges and a channeled slider bordered by rails reciprocableupon said' stringers to effect the engagement and disengagement of saidscoops and means for locking said slider against dislocation from apreadjusted scoop-interlocking position on said stringers, in responseto the application to the stringers of a force tending to separate themlaterally, said means including elongated curved-surface pro-' jectionsof progressively increasing cross-section, disposed within thescoop-receiving channels in proximity to and parallel to the rails ofthe slider,

said surfaces being conformed for progressive frictional engagement bysurfaces of an adjacent scoop which are normally parallel to the sliderrails, when movement of such scoop is induced by a concurrent movementof the stringers directed to their separation along their longitudinaledges, the projections being spaced from the inner walls of the sliderchannels to permit the scoops to traverse such channels without makingcontact therewith, in the normal reciprocation of the slider along saidstringers.

3. A slide fastener assembly, including a pair of stringers carryingrows of spaced scoops along their adjacent longitudinal edges and achanneled slider reciprocable upon said stringers to effect theengagement and disengagement of said scoops and means for locking saidslider against displacement from a preadjusted scoop-interlockingposition on said stringers, in response to the application to thestringers of a force tending to separate them laterally, said meansincluding protuberances disposed within the scoop-receiving channels ofthe slider having surfaces of a profile of progressively increasingcross-section adapted to be engaged by the jaw end of a scoop forinducing a frictional camming action of a progressively increasingintensity, as the scoop is urged into engagement with such surfacesin-response to movement thereof initiated by the application of a forceto the stringersdirected to their lateral separation, beyond theinterlocked position of 1 the scoops.

to provide for 4. A slider adapted to form a component of a slidefastener assembly, including upper and lower wings embodying dependentrail-forming portions, said wings being interconnected intermediate saidrails in spaced relationship to provide a pair of divergingscoop-camming channels, said wings having protuberances of anapproximately semi-conical contour formed on the inner faces thereof inproximity to said rails, the axis of each of said protuberances beingparallel to the adjacent rail, said protuberances being adapted to coactwith surfaces of slide fastener scoops designed for entry within saidchannels to produce a camming action to interlock such scoops with saidslider under certain conditions 'in the use of the slide fastener.

' fastener, including directed to theirsepstringers, tending 5. Incombination with the stringers of a slide interlockable scoops and aslider having wings bordered by rails to define camming channels adaptedto manual actuation along said stringers in one direction, to urge suchscoops into interlocking engagement and in 1 the opposite direction toeffect the disengagement of the scoops, means on saidslider formed tocooperate with said scoops to retain the slider in a preadjustedscoop-interlocking condition on said stringers, in opposition to forcesapplied to the to separate them laterally, said means consisting of ofthe wings of the slider, sections of the camming channel thereof, and,in proximity to the slider rails, each of said projections originatingadjacent the outer end of the channel section in which it is located,and having the conformation of a softly rounded surface of anappreciable thickness, and extending in the direction of the inner endof the channel sec, tion, in graduallydiminishing thickness, to mergeinto the wing face.

6. The combination with the stringers of a slide fastener, carryinginterlockable scoops projecting from their matable longitudinal edges,of a slider having wings bordered by rails to define camming channelsmanually movable in one direction along said stringers to bring themtogether and interlock said scoops and inthe reverse direction to effectthe disengagement of said scoops, having means adapted to coact withcertain of said scoops for locking said slider against movementrelatively to said stringers, when in a pre-adjusted scoop-interlockingposition thereon, in opposition to forces communicated thereto, tendingto render it self-actuatable, and generated by a pull exerted on thestringers to separate them laterally, said means comprising projectionsof an approximately semi-conical shape formed on the wings, within thediverging sections of the camming'channel of the slider, in proximity tothe rails thereof, the axes of the projections being parallel to therails, with the vertices merging into the face of the wing upon whichthe respective projections are produced.

7. A slide fastener, including stringers carrying interlockable scoopsprojecting from their matable longitudinal edges, and a slider havingupper and lower wings and rails defining a channel, having divergingbranches leading to a converging branch .for the reception of thescoops,said slider being manually movable in one direction along the stringersto cam said scoops into interlocking engagement and in the reversedirection to effect their disengagement, means on projections on theinner faces within the diverging said slider adapted to coact withcertain of said scoops within the diverging branches of said channel,when the slider is in a preadjusted scoop-interlocking position on saidstringers, to lock said slider against self-actuation for displacementand scoop disengagement in response to the communication'thereto of apotential activating force created by a lateral separating movement ofthe stringers, said means taking the form of approximately semi-conicalprojections located adjacent the rails of the slider, within at leastone of the diverging branches of the camming channel thereof, sodisposed that their axes parallel said rails, said projections being ofgradually increasing cross-section along their axes adapted forprogressive engagement by a surface of a scoop jaw, for the generationof frictional locking effort, the engagement of the scoop with theprojections effecting a canting movement of the former within thechannel branch, the degree of which changes with the tion along thestringers to cam said scoops into interlocking engagement and, inthereverse direction to effect their disengagement, means on certain ofsaid scoops within the diverging branches of said channel, when theslider is in a preadjusted scoop-interlocking position on saidstringers, to lock said slider against self-actuation for displacementand scoop disengagement in response to the communication thereto of apotential activating force created by a lateral separating movement ofthe stringers, said means taking the form of approximately semi-conicalprojections located adjacent the rails of the slider, within thediverging branches of the camming channel thereof, said projectionsextending longitudinally within the camming channel and having theirgreatest cross-section at the free end of said progression of the scoopalong the projections,

with a concomitant increase in the intensity of the frictional effortthat is exerted in opposing the aforesaid potential slider displacingforce.

8. A slide fastener, including stringers carrying inter-lockable scoopsprojecting from their matable longitudinal edges, and a slider havingupper and lower wings and rails defining a channel, having divergingbranches leading to a converging branch for the reception of the scoops,said slider being manually movable in one direcchannel, so disposed thattheir axes parallel said rails, said projections being adapted forprogressive engagement by a surface of a scoop jaw, other than the topor bottom thereof, for the generation of frictional" locking effort, theengagement of the scoop with the projections effecting a cantingmovement of the former within the channel branches, the degree of whichchanges with the progression of the scoop along the projections, with aconcomitant increase in the intensity of the frictional effort that isexerted in opposing the aforesaid potential slider displacing force.

ROY HIRSCH.

